Paris-Liège en 4 heures, 1930

CommentaryIn the 1920s the subjects of the posters advertising train travel changed: It was no longer only luxury and comfort which defined the image; the power of the locomotive became a symbol for a new faith in progress, a sign of trust in the large machines.

More and more people travelled by train – though not luxury trains. Train technology developed further, undercarriage and tracks allowed higher speeds for the new, more powerful engines. Speeds of up to 160 km/h were attained, something only possible with the train. Speed thus became not only a value in itself, but also one for advertising. In the presentation of this achievement, posters for train travel took on a pioneering role in the development of posters.

Major elements are to be found in the poster ›Paris-Liège in 4 Hours‹. During the international exhibition, a Salon-Pullman special train travelled between Paris and Liège, covering the 367 km in less than 4 hours; The main message is a travel time of 4 hours, the centered ›4‹ divides the poster in four parts. The upper two parts depict the power and dynamism of the locomotive with a photo-realistic reproduction of drive wheels on the right. To the left you see only sketchy outlines. The lower half is dedicated to the static part – the tracks and undercarriage. This part takes the text, with the words ›Paris-Liège‹ underlining the dynamism of the upper part with their being set in perspective.

In the 1920s the subjects of the posters advertising train travel changed: It was no longer only luxury and comfort which defined the image; the power of the locomotive became a symbol for a new faith in progress, a sign of trust in the large machines.

More and more people travelled by train – though not luxury trains. Train technology developed further, undercarriage and tracks allowed higher speeds for the new, more powerful engines. Speeds of up to 160 km/h were attained, something only possible with the train. Speed thus became not only a value in itself, but also one for advertising. In the presentation of this achievement, posters for train travel took on a pioneering role in the development of posters.

Major elements are to be found in the poster ›Paris-Liège in 4 Hours‹. During the international exhibition, a Salon-Pullman special train travelled between Paris and Liège, covering the 367 km in less than 4 hours; The main message is a travel time of 4 hours, the centered ›4‹ divides the poster in four parts. The upper two parts depict the power and dynamism of the locomotive with a photo-realistic reproduction of drive wheels on the right. To the left you see only sketchy outlines. The lower half is dedicated to the static part – the tracks and undercarriage. This part takes the text, with the words ›Paris-Liège‹ underlining the dynamism of the upper part with their being set in perspective.